*Jessica's POV*
I was sitting on my side of the couch in my rented apartment with Lily. I kept arguing that the right side of this memory couch was better than the left. After much argument and fights and cries, we agreed to disagree. Let me tell you the story of the memory couch.
Lily and I have been friends since our first year of high school. She was a new girl in the school and I was the nerdy girl no one wanted to play with. If any of my schoolmates saw me now they would be so shocked. I didn't glow up, until my last year in college. Lily was everyone's friend, and teacher's pet, even the janitor had a crush on her. She was just a social butterfly, and I was the opposite. After a traumatic event that occurred when I was only six in elementary school, I locked myself up from the world and only let Granny and Lily in.
Lily wasn't so good at any subject, beauty was her thing, and I was the brain. Always had the highest grades and got a lot of friends during class projects, examination periods, and school competitions.
That Monday, the teacher announced a trade fair, and I was nominated to go, but I had stage fright and social anxiety, even if I knew all what to say and do and market the goods, I couldn't say a word. Lily was nominated to replace me, but she didn't have the brain. She knew how to talk and market, but didn't know the strategies and the calculations. Let's just say she was bad at maths and economics.
We got paired together, I was to teach her everything I know so she can do a great job for the school. And I agreed and indeed taught her everything. She was so hard to teach and kept getting distracted, she had potential, just too lazy to unlock it.
She did well in the trade fair and came running to my house to thank me. I didn't go to the trade fair, but the good news reached my ears. Turns out Lily remembered the way to my house even if she kept lying she didn't, so I could come pick her up at her house and play a little with her, in her majestic tree house. Lily had rich parents and lived comfortably.
Lily came knocking on my door, panting like a mad dog and I was dragged out of my comfort zone. Lily always dragged me out and that was how I fought my social anxiety but before then we got into trouble.
We saw a yard sale on our way to get ice cream and celebrate her success, her way of a thank you. Then we saw this majestic old couch I was sitting on. Lily was a troublemaker as always. At the yard sales, Lily was still so excited about the trade fair and wouldn't stop getting buyers to get stuff. That wasn't the problem, the problem was, we got too into the game and started pricing a shining yellow couch, two-seaters, just for me and Lily, she said it would fit in our secret hidden. But we had no money. The owner was so excited to sell and we went on and on testing the couch, until I tripped and hit a customer who was with a cup of coffee. It stained the couch and was fast to spread all over the couch, messing it up.
We started running as fast as we could, away from the mess we created. Sadly the next morning I heard granny having a conversation with a man and the next minute my ears we being dragged down to Lily's house and Lily's ears also dragged as we cried hard as we got to the yard sales again and started scrubbing the couch clean. That continued for two whole weeks, after school, we kept scrubbing, but the stupid coffee still wasn't fully out till today.
That doesn't answer the question of how the couch is still here...well, I and Lily was so hurt and offended and said our sweat would not go in vain. So we saved up, worked our ass out until we bought the couch ourselves. Till now, each time we relocated we went with the coffee-spilled couch. The right side was better because I was the first person to sit on the right side of the couch as soon as we made a complete payment, Lily thinks the left is better because that was where the coffee spilled. The stain was so faint now, but if you looked real deep, you could still see it.
I smiled at the memories I have made with Lily, Lily has been my only friend all my life. A part of my life. My family.
I was finally done amending Mr. Peabody's weak arms. Mr. Peabody was my favorite stuffed doll. My only stuffed doll. I have carried him all my life. Since I was a newborn baby. Granny tells me that, my father got it for me and left it in my baby court with a whole lot of money the day he left and never came back. I should hate it, right? But I loved its embrace. It was like I was with my father. In his arms, he was looking and me, protecting me each time I looked at it and held it in my arms. Call me a baby, I still cuddle it every night.
"Jessyyyyyyyyy....". Lily screamed as she banged open the door and absurdly jumped onto the couch. I didn't even notice when she left my side.
" you scared me!"
"Oh, you should be scared! Granny is at the gate!" Lily said as she started jumping around and getting things fixed and arranged.
"What! How? When? She didn't think to call first??" I said as I also followed Lily and started a quick cleaning session.
"Mr. Robert the gardener brought her here. She can't remember and wouldn't even be able to get here from her house. Yes, it is just four blocks away, but you know her condition better than anyone else." Lily explained.
Mr. Robert is so dead!
Always sneaking around and putting his head in everyone's business!
Don't get me wrong, he is a kind and sweet man in his late seventies, and poke-nosing was his way of survival in this boring world. He always had a crush on Granny and would do anything to make her happy.
He was so healthy and annoying for his age.
"Granny!" I screamed so she would hear me as I ran through the frontage to go embrace her.
The house was all clean and tidy and I was glad they were both old, meaning slow steps, that bought us a lot of time.
"My little pumpkin ...she is all grown now," Granny said crying. She was so happy I finally got a job, not knowing my boss was so bent on getting me fired.
"Hello, Mr.Robert," I said with a fake smile.
"That's your grandpa you are greeting, Eric. Not Mr.Robert." Granny corrected dragging my ears.
"Granny... stop you are hurting your little pumpkin. Grandpa is long gone. You have forgotten Mr.Robert again." I said as I pulled away from her strong grip.
Mr. Robert looked hurt, but shook it off, he knew she suffered from dementia. He had been by her side since Grandpa died years ago, her brain has refused to erase memories of her love life.
"Don't tell her that, she will be in conflict again, and that is hurting her brain... yes yes, I'm Eric." Mr. Robert said as he embraced Granny and led her inside.
"So rude," Granny said as she walked past me.
I was getting so scared. I have to work harder to keep this job and take Granny to the best hospital ever. Even if it meant gathering enough money to fly her out, I was ready to do so.
"Come sit with granny, my pumpkin," Granny called out. They were now sitting on the couch in our small parlor, which was now clustered having four people in it.
I sat beside Granny and held her very close to me, hugging and cuddling her. This was our best position and I was always carried in her arm like this. I didn't want her to forget this at all.
"Come on Lola," Granny called out to Lily.
"Ma'am, it is Lily." Lily tried to correct her in a way that wouldn't get her angry.
"Yes yes, whatever. Now come cuddle with granny."
Lily walked over and sat at the other side of Granny and Granny didn't fail to squeeze her in.
"My baby. Lily, you should be glad you got my little pumpkin the job, is not what I would have done to those think ears of yours." Granny laughed loudly.
Lily let out a stiffen laugh. We both knew Granny
wasn't kidding when she said that. Lily was so scared of Granny.
I just smiled and didn't let this moment pass.
"I missed this," Granny said as she sniffed my hair. Granny always did this and spanked me hard if I didn't get my hair washed. Which I forgot to do, due to the amount of reading I have been doing.
"Pumpkin!"
I quickly jumped out of her embrace and started running for my dear life. She was going to kill me.
I jumped over Mr. Robert's head.
"Jessy listen to your grandma." Mr.Robert scolded.
"You are not my grandpa." I laughed as I kept running.
"I love you granny. But I'm so not getting my ears squeezed"...or at least I thought.
I was presently on my knees in front of Granny and her minions on the other side ensuring I didn't get away. Lily betrayed me and caught me while I was running free and brought me to her master.
"How could you," I joked angrily.
"Shut up. You are not to say a word. Now to your bathroom." Granny said.
She dragged me up to the bathroom and put me in the bathtub. "Everyone else out." She said as she pulled her knitted jacket and placed it on the towel hanger.
"Strip." She said with a stern voice.
"Granny... I can wash my hair myself. I'm 23 now." I said stubbornly but still wise enough to listen to her.
"I know you are very busy with your work, that's why I didn't hit you with a broom for leaving your hair unwashed. I'm sure when I die you will be breeding lice on your hair." She said as she helped settle my jeans and baggy top on the counter.
I frowned when I understood her sentence. She was thinking about death. "Granny don't say that again. Your pumpkin has a job now, she earns a lot of money and her boss Grandma loves her very much. In no time I will get you healed, don't think of death again." I scolded her softly.
"Fine fine. Close your eyes or you will get soap in them and you will start screaming like a child that you are." We both laughed when we remembered how I almost got blind while washing my hair.
Granny massaged my hair with shampoo and was getting the root well massaged, getting all the dirt off. She went to the end of the hair and was detangling my waist-long hair.
"Your hair is just like your mother's. I remember how I used to wash her hair. She was so stubborn like you and didn't like washing it because her hair was so full and long. I remember dragging her by her ears into the bathroom and washing it for her. I guess her blood runs strongly in you. You are just like your mother." Granny said and I liked it when her memories were working fine. She says this story every time she is washing my hair.
"...but when she found your father. She washed her hair every day, saying she didn't want to smell bad. Oh, the things we do for love." I completed.
"Hey, I'm the one telling stories here." We both laughed.
I was just like mother too. When I had a crush on Drake, I was willing to become a woman. I started getting makeup, learning how to do makeup myself, I started learning how to strip so I could lure Drake. He never saw me dancing though. No man that wasn't in a stripping club saw me dancing and they never recognized my face outside the club.
Drake makes me wear perfume, dress all girly, and style my hair. In general, he made me a woman. And he successfully broke the woman he created.
"How is work like?" Granny asked.
"My workplace is huge, the offices are all massive, my office is nice and spacious too. I got a laptop and tablet. The lunch and dinner are on the company. We get to go on field trips and I get to fly around with my boss, for work purposes. And not to talk about the pay..." I was rambling and Granny was so happy.
"Your boss. Lily said you work as a secretary."
"Yes, granny. He is so rude, annoying, and bossy and fires people anyhow and he does care about others. He is so rude to me too but I will manage." I said grumpily thinking about work tomorrow.
Today turned out free because the boss caught a cold and decided to work from home. Apart from that, the business partners changed the venue. Mrs. James didn't want to go into details.
I was so happy because I could rest up and prepare for the stressful week ahead. Today was the first time I loved Monday!
"Remember you are not like the rich and you must not get into any affair with them," Granny said sternly. She didn't want me to end up like a mother, pregnant for a rich man, and get abandoned.
"Yes, granny. I love you, granny." I said right before she started washing off the conditioner.
"I love you too, my pumpkin. Now close your mouth." She joked.
I was not going to fall for my boss, him being heartless just made it a lot easier not to fall for his Greek-like figure and face.
...or at least I thought.